


Costume Party

by shellygurumi



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-03-30 02:50:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3920128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shellygurumi/pseuds/shellygurumi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Cas have been best friends since the 11th grade. By their senior year of college, they're as close as ever, but not quite close enough. They both have huge crushes on one another, but neither of them knows the other's true feelings. Hiding behind the fear of ruining their friendship with unrequited feelings, it takes a bold statement at Charlie's themed costume party for either of them to admit the truth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Costume Party

“I don’t get it... so, it’s a costume party?” Dean looked confused.

“Yes, what don’t you get?” Cas tipped his head, curiously. They had been invited to the party by their mutual friend, Charlie. She and Dean met in their psychology class last year and he introduced her to Cas halfway through the semester. The three of them often got coffee or lunch together between classes and had become good friends.

“It’s not even Halloween. I thought costume parties were Halloween only?”

Cas shook his head, “Charlie said that it’s a themed party. She just wants everyone to come dressed up as a character from movies or TV.”

“Where am I supposed to find a costume in June?”

“You can make one. Or you can find a year-round costume shop.”

Dean groaned and crossed his arms. “There better be a lot of booze at this party.” Cas laughed. “What are you going as?”

“You’ll see.” Cas shrugged.

“You’re not going to tell me?” Dean’s eyes went a little wide.

“I’m still working on the costume. I’m waiting to see if I can get all of it before I commit to something.” The truth was, he didn’t want Dean to know what his costume was until they were at the party. He really did have a few more last minute details to pick up, though.

“Oh, excuse me, I didn’t realize a costume was such a big deal.” Dean rolled his eyes, but wore a grin on his lips.

Cas chuckled, “It’s a very big deal. You better find a good one or else you will embarrass Charlie and bring dishonor on your family.”

Dean laughed broadly at that. “Well, I wouldn’t want that, now would I?”

“No, you wouldn’t.” He shook his head.

“Alright, fine, I’ll find a good costume.”

“The party is tomorrow, so you better hurry,” Cas warned.

“Alright, then get your ass out of my apartment so I can go get a costume.” Dean stood from the table and grabbed his keys. He bumped Cas’s shoulder with his own as he walked past.

Cas tipped slightly at that bump and laughed at the comment. “Okay, fine.” He pulled his own keys from his pocket and started towards the door. “See you tomorrow?”

“Sure. You want to head to the party together?” Dean patted Cas on the back and led him out of the apartment.

“I’ve got some things to do on the way there, I’ll meet you at Charlie’s?” Cas thought he caught the hint of a frown on Dean’s lips, but it was gone before he could be sure, replaced by a smile.

“Alright, Cas. Catch ya’ later, then.” Dean waved vaguely.

“See you.” Cas walked away from Dean’s apartment and took a deep breath. He and Dean had been best friends since high school. They went to college together and shared a dorm their first year. Now it was their senior year and they were as close as ever, but not quite as close as Cas would like. He’d had a crush on Dean since they were 17 years old. He just couldn’t figure out if Dean felt the same.

What he did know is this: Dean occasionally dated women, but never for very long. He pointed out cute girls, but also sometimes checked out at good looking men when he didn’t think anyone would notice. If he had ever dated a guy, Cas never heard about it. Dean was incredibly friendly and flirted often, even with Cas. But what Cas couldn’t figure out was if that flirting was just good-natured joking around, or something more. Another thing Cas knew was that Dean had a huge crush on Dr. Sexy M.D.

It was ridiculous and Cas learned about it while they shared the dorm room. Every day when Dr. Sexy came on, Dean was glued to the TV. It was about a month into the habit before Cas realized that he watched it primarily for the main character, the attractive doctor himself. Not that Cas could blame him, the actor was tall and strong, with fine features and messy hair, and, of course, his trademark cowboy boots -- the one thing that made Dr. Sexy so sexy, according to Dean.

The one thing about the whole Dr. Sexy crush that Cas wasn’t certain of was whether Dean liked Dr Sexy in a genuine “I would jump his bones if he walked out of the TV” way or in a “man crush -- if I had to sleep with a dude, it’d be him” kind of way. They never talked about these kinds of things. Cas had never gotten up the urge to ask Dean if he liked men and Dean really wasn’t the sharing sort. If you didn’t ask him about his feelings, he wouldn’t volunteer the information. Even if you did ask him, sometimes he would brush it off and change the subject. Dean wasn’t very good at the touchy-feely stuff, as he would put it.

So Cas was left in the dark, with a huge crush on his best friend in the world and too afraid to ask him how he felt. Tomorrow, though, Cas had a plan. It would all be revealed at Charlie’s party.

 

* * *

 

If it weren’t for Charlie, Dean would never agree to go to a party where he was forced to wear a costume. Even at Halloween, he didn’t get dressed up, but Charlie had a way about her that somehow got Dean to agree to stuff he normally wouldn’t. In all honesty, Charlie had sort of become the little sister he never had. He had already agreed to go to the party when Cas came by to talk to him. Charlie was sure Dean would show up but wasn’t sure he’d be in costume, so she sent reinforcements in the form of Cas to be sure he dressed up. It was a one-two punch combo. He couldn’t say no to Charlie and he couldn’t say no to Cas, either, even if he would grump and grouch about it the whole time.

Charlie used her cute little-sister smile on Dean to convince him to do things. His little brother Sam had a whole puppy dog eye thing going for him. Cas was different, though, and Dean couldn’t really put his finger on why. Maybe it was the way he asked Dean things or how he told him what to do? Maybe it was the way he stared Dean down, challenging him to disagree? Maybe it was the crafty smile he sometimes wore when coming up with schemes? Or maybe it was the shade of his blue eyes or the way Cas’s smile made him feel. Maybe it was the way his hair -- always a mess -- fell over his face. Maybe it was the fact that Dean had a crush on Cas that he’d never been able to shake.

They had been best friends longer than Dean had ever been friends with anyone. Dean met Cas in 11th grade, when he helped the other boy with his math homework. Dean had never tutored anyone before, Sam was always so smart that he didn’t need any help. No one in any of Dean’s classes every gave him a second thought when looking for help with school work. Cas did, though. Dean kept his grades to himself, neither bragging about good grades or griping about bad ones. The fact that Cas even noticed that he aced all his math tests was kind of surprising.

The fact that he then asked Dean to help him out was even more surprising. Most people asked the nerdy kids for help or got a professional tutor. Dean never understood why Cas had come to him and Cas never explained. Their conversation had gone something like this:

“I’m having trouble in math class... would you mind helping me out with the material?”

“You want me to help you?”

“Yes.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re good at math.”

“That’s why you want me to help you?”

“Do I need another reason?”

Over the first month or two, Dean made up dozens of reasons why someone like Cas would want help from someone like him. Maybe he didn’t want anyone to know he was getting help with his work. Maybe he thought being friends with Dean would keep him safe from bullies or something. Maybe he assumed Dean had lots of free time. It had to be something other than Dean being good at math. Other kids in the class were good at math. But after hanging out with Cas, both during tutoring and after, Dean realized he didn’t care what the reason was. Because he liked Cas. The guy was fun to hang out with, had a dry, witty sense of humor that cracked him up and he wasn’t too hard on the eyes, either. They were best friends by the end of the year, though Dean might have wanted something more than that.

Not that Cas was interested in him that way.

Dean had tried to drop hints over the years they had been friends. He touched Cas more than he touched anyone else. He always got him thoughtful gifts on his birthday, when Dean -- as a rule -- pretty much sucked at gift giving. Hell, he even pointed out when it had been three years since the day they met. Who remembers crap like the day they met their best  friend? People with stupid crushes on their best friends, that’s who. He checked out other guys sometimes when Cas was around, just to test the waters or maybe drop a hint that he was into guys, too. He even flirted with Cas from time to time.

Yeah, Dean dated girls sometimes, but it didn’t usually work out or last too long. He couldn’t do it when he knew his true feelings were for someone else. Usually, he tried dating other people just to take his mind off the unrequited feelings he had for Cas. And Cas dated girls sometimes, too... though it never lasted long, either. Maybe Dean could have tried dating another guy, but he couldn’t, because it felt too much like a betrayal to Cas. Not that he and Cas had anything going except friendship.

It was all dumb. Feelings and emotions and having crushes. It was like he was perpetually a 14 year old kid, not the man he was supposed to be. Crushes were for school kids, not for him. And it sucked.

And now he had a stupid costume party to go to thanks to the double whammy that was Charlie and Cas teaming up on him. He had no idea what to wear, or what he could put together quickly, but he knew it had to be something from TV or movies, so he did a quick account of all his and Cas’s favorite characters. That’s when Dean remembered, with fondness, the day he introduced Cas to the Indiana Jones series.

It was a shock and a travesty that Cas had never been exposed to the series before, so Dean knew he had to remedy that. One weekend in their dorm, they popped a ton of popcorn, ordered pizza and got a couple two liters of soda and set up shop in the living room. Dean got the whole trilogy, explaining that Crystal Skull was something that never should have happened and declaring that Cas wasn’t allowed to watch it as part of the marathon. They watched Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade. It was epic. And by the end of the night, Dean was sure Cas had a crush on Indiana Jones. He gushed about how good the movies were and how great Indie was.

That settled it. Dean would dress up as Indiana Jones for the stupid costume party. It was easy enough to put together, and he already had a leather jacket and a light colored button up shirt. Surely he had a pair of khaki pants somewhere in his closet. All he needed to find was the hat and a prop whip. Surely he could find those somewhere.

 

* * *

 

Cas stood in the kitchen of Charlie’s apartment feeling like an idiot. No one knew what his costume was, except Charlie, and explaining it was tiring. He didn’t even watch the soap opera that claimed to be a medical drama. Everyone thought he was just a doctor, or sometimes guessed he was Dr House. So he hid from the other guests and drank from a red solo cup, hoping to keep his nerve at least until Dean got there. Dean would know who he was right away, and maybe then he would know why he was dressed up this way.

Tonight, he would confess his feelings to Dean. If it went well, they could enjoy the party. If it went terribly, either Dean would run away or Cas would and Charlie could do damage control on whoever stuck around. Not exactly fair to Charlie, but she knew Cas’s plan, so at least she was forewarned. She didn’t seem to mind, either.

Dean was running late. The party had started an hour ago, about half the guests or more had arrived. Maybe Dean had decided that costume parties weren’t for him and he was just going to blow them both off. It wasn’t really like him, but Cas wasn’t exactly working in the realms of logic right now. He was mostly too nervous to think straight. Maybe Dean would come and everything would go terribly and years of friendship would be ruined in one single night. Maybe everything would go right and be perfect and --

“He’s here.” Charlie had snuck into the kitchen. Her eyes were wide and practically sparkling. She was dressed as Xena, Warrior Princess, wearing a long black wig and carrying a chakram she had made herself.

Cas nearly choked on his drink “What?”

“Dean’s here, you doofus, now come out of the kitchen.”

“Or I could just stay here.”

Charlie rolled her eyes and walked over to him. She grabbed his arm and tugged him out the door. “Come on.”

 

* * *

 

Dean was only a little late to the party, because apparently finding a hat like Indiana Jones’s was harder than he thought it would be. He might have been okay, except that he sat in his car outside for twenty minutes before getting the guts to go inside. Then he stood in the hallway for another ten minutes until another guest arrived and he pretended like he just got there, himself. Now he was an hour late to the party and a nervous wreck. Dean didn’t usually get nervous. He wasn’t used to feeling this way and he definitely didn’t like it. But now he was here and he was dressed like Indiana Jones and there was no going back.

When he walked into the apartment, Dean scanned the room. He recognized a handful of people but didn’t know them very well. He didn’t see Charlie, though, or Cas and so Dean was just making plans to turn tail and run. He could tell Cas he came down with a stomach flu at the last second or something. It would be fine. It would be a lie but it was better than being an idiot in front of a bunch of people he didn’t know. Dean turned around. He took a step towards the door.

“Dean?” Cas asked from somewhere behind him. Dean turned around.

“Hey Cas--” He stopped cold when he got a look at Cas. He was standing there with hair tousled, the scruff of a beard along his jaw, like he hadn’t shaved in the last two days. Cas had on a lab coat, over dark blue scrubs. A stethoscope hung over his shoulders and a medical ID clipped to his labcoat read “Dr. Sexy, M.D.” with a photo of the TV character. Dean’s jaw dropped and he looked Cas up and down. When he noticed that Cas was wearing trademark cowboy boots to complete the outfit, a grin turned the corners of Dean’s mouth up. “Doctor.”

“Professor.” Cas said, a grin of his own lighting his lips. But the grin didn’t meet his eyes. No, Cas’s too-deep blue eyes showed only surprise.

“Yeah, well, Indiana Jones is awesome.”

“I agree.” He nodded.

“But when did you become a fan of Dr. Sexy? I didn’t think you liked it.”

“I’m... Not.. really...” Cas shrugged.

“Why would you dress up as him if you’re not a fan?”

“Because you are,” Cas said, as if it was obvious. “You want a drink?”

Dean suddenly remembered they were still surrounded by people and glanced around. No one was really looking at them, except Charlie, who smiled when he looked her way. He smiled back and gave a little nod, then looked back at Cas, “Yeah, a drink sounds good.”

Cas led him back to the kitchen where he poured some drink into a red, plastic cup and handed it over to Dean, before taking a big gulp of his own.

“So, Doctor...” Dean started, then stopped, because he didn’t know what he was going to say. He was kind of giddy at seeing Cas dressed up as his TV show favorite character.

“Yeah?”

“Nice boots.” He finished lamely.

Cas laughed. “Well, they are, of course, what makes Dr. Sexy sexy.”

“I didn’t know you owned cowboy boots.”

“I didn’t. I bought them yesterday. If I couldn’t find the right pair...” He shrugged.

“I’m impressed by your attention to detail.”

“I didn’t know you owned a whip.” Cas gestured to the prop strapped to Dean’s hip.

“I bought it today. And the hat. It’s kind of why I’m late.”

“Looks good on you.” Cas smiled.

“Which one? The hat or whip?” Dean smirked, putting on his flirting charm without even realizing it at first.

“Both.” Cas stole the hat off Dean’s head and looked it over.

“Hey! My hat!” Dean reached for it to take it back and Cas laughed.

“Indie always loses his hat.” He turned away to keep it from Dean.

“And he always gets it back.” Dean wrapped his arms around Cas and tried to steal the hat back. They both ended up laughing and Cas leaned back against Dean’s chest even as he held the hat away from Dean.

Their cheeks brushed together in the struggle and Dean noticed that he liked the way the scruff felt against his own cheek. He felt warm inside and a little breathless. All the nerves had melted in this one moment. The struggling slowed to a stop before Dean even realized what was happening. His hand wrapped around Cas’s, which held the stolen hat. Their hands lowered and Cas turned around. They were still close together and Cas looked down, then back up, into Dean’s eyes.

“Dean...”

“Yeah, Cas?” They were speaking softly for some reason.

“I wore this costume because you like Dr. Sexy...”

“Why?”

Cas laughed in a quiet way. “I don’t know why you like Dr. Sexy.”

“Why did you wear it for me?”

“Because you like Dr. Sexy... and I... like you...”

“You like Indiana Jones.” Dean replied, dumbly.

Cas looked down at Dean’s chest. His shirt was open, unbuttoned too far for anyone not-Indiana Jones to pull off. A smile spread slowly across Cas’s face.

“And you like me?” Cas asked quietly, still not looking up.

Dean wasn’t good with words. He didn’t like talking about emotions or feelings. He did know, though, that there are some moments where everything weighed in the balance. This was one of those moments. Their friendship, his feelings for Cas, Cas’s feelings, they were all at risk right now and the wrong move could ruin everything. Dean took a slow breath and lifted a hand to Cas’s scruffy cheek. He tilted the other man’s face up and kissed him carefully on the lips.

They both closed their eyes and leaned into each other. Dean wound an arm around Cas’s waist, pulling him in closer. Cas tipped his head to the side and kissed Dean back a little harder. He set his hands on Dean’s hips and gave them a squeeze.

When they pulled back from each other, they both wore open-mouthed smiles and were a little breathless.

“How long have you wanted to do that?” Cas asked quietly, eyes focused on Dean’s lips, as if he might kiss them again.

“Too long,” Dean admitted.

“Me too...”

“We might be idiots.”

“It’s about time you two figured that out,” Charlie said from somewhere to the side of them. Dean glared at her.

“Hey.”

Cas laughed and dropped his head against Dean’s chest, hiding.

“So are you two just going to make out in the kitchen all night? Or are you going to join the party? Because other people might want to get drinks as well at some point.”

“You know, Charlie, I don’t know... I mean, it looks like we’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for.” Dean grinned.

“Well, at the risk of sounding cliche, maybe you guys should get a room.” She smirked at the pair of them.

“Maybe she’s right, Dean.” Cas said, finally coming out of hiding.

“Is your room available?” Dean asked Charlie.

“Gross!” She made a face.

“If you guys think you can stop sucking face long enough to enjoy the party, that’d be nice. Otherwise, go home.”

“What do ya’ say, Cas? Party or home?”

“It would be rude to leave so early...” Cas said with a little frown. Dean resisted the urge to kiss him.

“Alright, fine, we stick around a while then go make up for lost time.”

“Deal, now move.” Charlie said, gesturing out of the kitchen.

Cas took Dean’s hand and started them moving back toward the living room. Dean picked a large armchair for them to sit in, and plopped down in it. Cas took a seat on the arm of the chair and Dean kept a hand on his back while they sat. He really wasn’t one for mushy, gross PDA, but he also didn’t want to let Cas out of his reach.

 

* * *

 

After the party was over, Dean and Cas drove back to Cas’s apartment. They had come in separate cars and had to leave the same way, which was the first time they left each others’ sides all night. When they got back, Dean took off his leather jacket and Cas lost the lab coat. It had been easy to kiss in the kitchen at the party, but now neither of them seemed quite where to begin. Dean looked great in his open shirt and Cas just wanted to touch his chest into the foreseeable future.

Dean must have caught him staring, because he walked forward, closing the distance between them, and took Cas by the hips. “Hey.”

Cas raised a hand between them, touching fingertips to the exposed portion of Dean’s chest. “You look great in this.”

“Thanks. You make a pretty sexy Dr. Sexy yourself.”

Cas laughed. It was nice to hear Dean call him sexy. “We’re going to be okay, right?”

“What do you mean?” Dean tipped his head to the side, confusion clear in his voice.

“You’re my best friend, Dean. I don’t want to lose that... but I also...” He laughed softly. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since the day I met you.”

“Seriously?” Dean’s eyes were wide. “Is that why you wanted me to tutor you?”

“Yes.” Cas paused. “And because you were good at math.”

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“I didn’t think you felt the same way.” Cas shrugged.

“I-- You-- What?”

Blinking, Cas looked up at Dean, “What?”

“Man, Cas, I’ve liked you for a long time. You didn’t notice? Maybe I’m not as good at flirting as I though.” Dean laughed, good-natured.

“You’re very good at flirting. It’s made my life very hard, but... I just figured... you were being playful.”

“Cas, not for nothing, the last time I flirted with someone the way I flirt with you, I got laid. Honestly, I thought you just didn’t think of me that way.”

“I guess that makes us both idiots.” Cas gave a sardonic smile.

“Yeah, I guess it does.” Dean pulled Cas into a hug

“Do you think we are done being idiots now?”

“Not by a long shot.” Dean laughed. “But I think we’re done hiding the fact that we’re into each other.”

“Good.” Cas sighed with relief. “Does that mean I can kiss you again?”

“Hell yes, it does.”

Cas lifted both hands to Dean’s cheeks and kissed his lips, holding him close as he did so. Dean wrapped both arms around Cas’s middle, keeping him close as well, as he returned the kiss. It felt amazing. It felt right. It felt just like Cas had always dreamed it would, and better, because now it was real. And to think, dressing up as a character from a ridiculous medical drama was to thank for it all.

 


End file.
